Is Sisco ready to start for the Orioles?
Chance Sisco who started for the AAA Norfolk Tides at the age of 22, started slow but later picked up his numbers. Sisco finished the year well before being called up to the Orioles in total batting, .267/.340/.395, which were all career lows.
This didn’t come as much of a shock due to his fast start in the organization many expected some type of drop off and making Sisco look more like a human. Being drafted as Weiters replacement, Sisco was not known for his defensive skills and that was his main focus for much of the 2017 year.
As natural of a player he is, Sisco will need to make a big leap for the Orioles to consider him as the everyday catcher. Throwing out just 21/93 base runners in AAA, his arm strength will be a focus for most of his offseason. Numbers like that will not land him as an everyday player for any MLB team.
Even with the struggles in AAA the Orioles decided to call him up in September. Not showing any of the struggles in the Bigs was a huge step for Sisco. With a very small sample size, Sisco led the orioles in batting average, OBP, and slugging among all Orioles seeing more then 15 at bats.
I understand that I’m talking about 15 at bats, yes I said 15 at bats but there’s not much negative to talk about which is a great sign. Finishing his September call up with line of .333/.455/.788 was quite surprising. Something to think about is the similarly September call up in 2016, when Trey Mancini’s put up similar numbers in his 2016 call up batting, .357/.400/.488. Defensively seems to be were Sisco struggles, going 0/5 throwing out runners during his stint in the MLB.
With aging Welington Castillo and Orioles fan favorite Caleb Joseph still on the roster the Orioles will look to either make a move with Castillo or let him walk in order to let Sisco split time with Joseph. If not it will not come of much surprise to see Sisco back in Norfolk waiting for his opportunity to explode on the MLB scene.
All eyes will be on Sisco this offseason seeing what he does on his own to give himself a chance to make the Orioles MLB roster. With his rare skill offensively as a catcher he has the chance to be one of the Orioles cornerstone players for years to come.
